Frank de Boer hire: Atlanta United is counting on smooth transition
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Dec 24, 2018
Still, Atlanta United president Darren Eales does not feel like the hiring of Dutchman Frank de Boer marks a change in approach.
“My view is that coaches can match certain clubs,” Eales said during a conference call with media on Sunday. “For us, we felt that [De Boer] was a real match from a culture perspective. From similarities between ourselves and what he had at Ajax in terms of the support network, talent on the pitch is something that is really going to play to his strengths. And of course being multilingual, having both English and Spanish with the squad that we have was something that was going to help us with a smooth transition with the leadership.”
Eales said Atlanta United's eye on Argentine talent began before Martino was
hired and it will continue now that he has gone after leading the Five Stripes to the MLS title in their second season.
“We’ve had some South American talent coming in,”
he said. “And having Tata Martino as coach is someone that’s going to be a cherry on top when you’re trying to recruit. I’ve said it before, we had our profile, we recruited
Tito Villalba before Tata Martino was a twinkle in the eye of this club. We’ll continue to do that. Top talent in Argentina continues to get linked to us and continues to get put forward
even though Tata’s announced a long time ago that he was leaving."
River Plate star Pity Martinez has said he will join Atlanta United in 2019. It just has to move Miguel
Almiron, one of its three Designated Players, during England's January window to accommodate Martinez.
Following the MLS Cup win over Portland, the departing Martino gave an
endorsement to Atlanta United's management for the support he received and facilities it offered -- which would be attractive to any coach.
The coaching search netted 50 candidates, of
which 15 were considered strong candidates and seven were interviewed. The assumption was that Atlanta United would replace Martino with another Argentine. Names mentioned include Guillermo
Barros Schelotto, who won't return as Boca Juniors coach in 2019, and Jorge Sampaoli, who has since been named the coach at Brazil's Santos.
"From my perspective," added Eales,
"Atlanta United is a big club in North America with great facilities and a marvelous arena. We’ve got an amazing fan base that ranks in the top 15 in the world. And now we’ve got a top
coach in Frank de Boer. We’re in a great position to be able to recruit all over the globe.”
De Boer, 48, won a record four Dutch Eredivisie titles in four season as head
coach at Ajax, where he worked on deals that sent Ajax stars Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen to Tottenham, where Eales was director of football administration. De Boer's next two
coaching stints were less successful. Indeed, both were disasters -- De Boer lasted less than three months at Inter Milan in 2016 and Crystal Palace in 2017.
Atlanta United technical
director Carlos Bocanegra believes those setbacks will provide de Boer with some extra motivation to succeed in Atlanta.
“I found it really interesting during the whole
process because it felt like he had a chip on his shoulder,” Bocanegra said. “It feels like he has something to prove. And I like that. I like that he’s had some success, he’s
had some difficulties, but he’s really interested. He’s up for this challenge.”
2018 MLS coaching
changes:
NYCFC. Patrick Vieira --> Domenec Torrent.
Orlando City. Jason Kreis --> Bobby Murphy (interim) --> James O'Connor.
NY Red Bulls. Jesse Marsch
--> Chris Armas.
LA Galaxy. Sigi Schmid --> Dominic Kinnear (interim) --> ?
San Jose. Mikael Stahre --> Steve Ralston (interim) --> Matias Almeyda.
Vancouver. Carl Robinson -->
Craig Dalrymple (interim) --> Marc dos Santos.
FC Dallas. Oscar Pareja --> Luchi Gonzalez
Columbus. Gregg Berhalter --> ?
Atlanta United. Gerardo Martino --> Frank de Boer
Interesting: First we get the Brits - players, coaches/managers/referees, and now second we get the Gauchos, players, now coaches/managers, but no refs - so far! - .... Geez wiz, ain't we got any native born players, coaches/managers, and some referees???
We do, just not in the club.
It is human nature to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence instead of looking at your own yard.
Re: Sigi Schmid, any one have any update on his condition?
Ric, haven’t heard anything on Sigi. I respect privacy and perhaps that’s why no info. Soccer America could inquire on behalf of the soccer family and provide an update or the family’s request of not releasing news.
Remember, this was the manager who had Palace play a totally unproductive 3-4-3 that resulted in a 0-0-4 record in the EPL with no goals scored before Roy Hodgson came in to right the Eagles. Look out Atlanta, this one has disaster written all over it.